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Assorted stories from KPLU-FMenCopyright 2014 NPR - For Personal Use OnlyNPR API RSS Generator 0.94Mon, 02 Jun 2014 16:52:44 -0400http://media.npr.org/images/stations/logos/kplu_fm.gifKPLU-FM: Skagit Countyhttp://www.npr.org
Counties Deploying Bacteria-Sniffing Dogs To Find Failing Septic Systems In recent years, the Samish River Basin in Skagit County has suffered severe pollution from fecal coliform bacteria. Water polluted with untreated...Mon, 02 Jun 2014 16:52:44 -0400http://kplu.org/post/counties-deploying-bacteria-sniffing-dogs-find-failing-septic-systems
http://kplu.org/post/counties-deploying-bacteria-sniffing-dogs-find-failing-septic-systems In recent years, the Samish River Basin in Skagit County has suffered severe pollution from fecal coliform bacteria. Water polluted with untreated...107no In recent years, the Samish River Basin in Skagit County has suffered severe pollution from fecal coliform bacteria. Water polluted with untreated...

]]>Berry Pickers on Strike Again in BurlingtonFor the second time this month, about 200 berry pickers at a Skagit Valley farm have walked off the job. The workers are striking over pay for the boxes ofMon, 22 Jul 2013 20:22:10 -0400http://www.kplu.org/post/berry-pickers-strike-again-burlington
http://www.kplu.org/post/berry-pickers-strike-again-burlingtonFor the second time this month, about 200 berry pickers at a Skagit Valley farm have walked off the job. The workers are striking over pay for the boxes of89noFor the second time this month, about 200 berry pickers at a Skagit Valley farm have walked off the job. The workers are striking over pay for the boxes of

In Skagit County, a decades-old fight over water rights has come to ahead.

County Commissioners are walking away from an agreement they saywas originally intended to allocate water permits fairly, whileprotecting endangered salmon. But now they say that agreement hascaused nothing but lawsuits, so they’re seeking mediation instead.

Will Honea is Skagit County’s Civil Attorney. He says the agreement, which has been in place for 16 years, was developed through collaborative talks between tribes, cities, utilities and rural landowners and farmers. It was meant to help all of those interests co-exist in the fertile landscapes of the Skagit River valley, while still guaranteeing enough water for salmon.

“Skagit County signed this agreement to participate in a cooperativewater planning process that would reduce rural wells, but noteliminate landowners‘ access to water,” Honea says.

And he says as a result, water rights for people outside cities inSkagit County are strictly budgeted. They now have the toughestrestrictions in the state on rural water.

But he says the Swinomish tribe has filed repeated lawsuits, seeking to eliminate the entire water allocation for farmers and rural landowners.

The Swinomish argue the agreement was good as originally written. Butthey say an illegal amendment in 2006 allows development that wouldhurt salmon, which is at the heart of the tribe’s culture and economy.

“We’re salmon people. If our salmon go the way of the buffalo, it’s just a part of our culture that is going to die," Cladoosby says. "And we’re not only doing it for us. It’s for the non-Indians too. They enjoy that beautiful resource as much as we do.”

Skagit County’s Honea says the three other tribes in the area havedropped out of the lawsuit. And he says the county is tired offighting in court.

“So what we’re doing is, we’re not going to go to court again," Honea says. "We’re just going to step away from the conflict and we’re asking the Governor to appoint a qualified mediator to help our community move forward on a more positive path. "

He says the Swinomish tribe’s argument hinges on a technical error made by the Department of Ecology when they drafted the in-stream flow rule in 2001. And if the Swinomish win, about 6,000 rural landowners would be left without a legal source of water, including about 550 homes that have already been built.

The suit has made it all the way to the State Supreme Court, whichhears oral arguments in the case on Wednesday.